Masonic scholars have been trying
for two hundred years to solve the Craft's greatest mystery, the origin of the
ritual. Our Masonic forefathers were told imaginative stories about the origin
of the Craft. We were established by King Solomon with the help of Hiram, King
of Tyre; Masonry began with Noah and his sons; one story claimed Adam as our
first Grand Master because he was the first man to wear an apron! This kind of
Masonic history prevailed until 1850 when a reaction set in. Later historians
discounted the tales and accepted only those facts of Masonry which had
"incontrovertible" written proof.

Operative Masonry existed in
ancient times; but that our modern Fraternity began with Solomon, or someone
prior to the cathedral builders of the medieval period, is pure legend. Out of
the old Craft guilds, out of the loose "confraternity" of men who worked on the
great churches and castles of the period between 1200 A.D., and 1500 A.D., came
Operative Masonry with organized Lodges and ceremonies. By process of gradual
change it became Speculative Masonry, first organized into a Grand Lodge of
Masons in London on June 24, 1717.

The so-called Gothic
Constitutions or Old Charges are the earliest proof of our modern Masonry. They
consist of about one hundred old manuscripts, found in various places and now
carefully preserved.

Many today consider our ritual
virtually unchangeable. But this was not so in 1717, when the Mother Grand Lodge
was formed, and the years before and after. The charges were read or repeated
from memory; they were not secret, but the signs and words, used originally to
identify the operative, and later the speculative, Mason were strictly secret
and unwritten. The original ceremonies were brief and simple. They consisted of
the administering of an oath of secrecy; the communication of the secrets; and
the giving of the charges. Each Lodge was a separate unit, with no standard to
go by. The ritual therefore became a matter of the Master's preference as to
what words to use to convey the ideas involved. It was several decades after the
Grand Lodge was formed before any standardization was accomplished, or even
sought after. Thus we find the ritual evolving through a system of trial and
error. A gifted Master or Masonic lecturer would frame a passage of appealing
beauty. Soon others would use it and gradually it found acceptance in many
Lodges. This was a slow evolution; in the first several decades of the newly
formed Grand Lodge, no uniformity existed. Even today there are eight widely
variant rituals in use in England, all accepted as valid and regular.

Early in Scottish Operative
Masonry there were two ceremonies, for they quickly divided entered apprentices
from fellows of the Craft; but there were no lectures as we know them today. A
tradition did gradually grow up around the world - (our ancient brethren had
both little education and much superstition) - the idea of a word too sacred to
be pronounced, except under special circumstances.

The evolution of the Master's
degree resulted from the introduction and assimilation of the Hiramic Legend
into the Master's degree. The origin of the story of Hiram, the Widow's Son, is
as great a mystery as anything in Masonry. We know that miracle plays, religious
dramas, and tales of folklore were commonplace from the Middle Ages. The story
of Hiram developed over a couple of centuries. It may have been referred to in
Lodge ceremonies for half a century before 1717. In 1723, Dr. Anderson makes no
mention of it whatsoever in his Constitutions. But in 1738, the revised edition
refers to the "sudden death of their dear Master Hiram Abiff, who they recently
interr'd in the Lodge near the Temple, according to ancient usage."

Where the legend came from no one
knows. Hiram is mentioned in the Bible in I Kings and II Chronicles. He was also
mentioned in the Cooke Manuscript of 1410. But the Graham Manuscript, discovered
in 1936 and dated 1726, and filled with Masonic ritual, tells of the legend of
Noah. A valuable secret died with Noah. His three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth
supposed that Noah had carried it with him into the grave and determined to
exhume the body, "agreeing beforehand that if they did not find the very thing
itself, the first thing they found was to be to them as a secret. They found
nothing in the grave except a dead body; when they gripped the finger it came
away, and so with the wrist and the elbow. They then reared up the dead body,
supporting it by setting foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, cheek to
cheek, and hand to back. One said there is yet marrow in this bone and the
second said but a dry bone and the third said it stinketh."

While we are not able to fully
account for the adoption of the Hiramic Legend, we can, with certainty, state
that our Masonry and our ritual came from:

The Grand Lodge of England - 1717-1753

The Grand Lodge of the "Antients" - 1753-1813

The Grand Lodge of the "Moderns" - 1753-1813

The United Grand Lodge - 1813 and on

The Grand Lodge of Ireland - 1724 and on

The Grand Lodge of Scotland - 1736 and on

The ritual of the original Grand
Lodge changed as it flowed, through many years after 1717. The Grand Lodges of "Antients"
and "Moderns" both made alterations in the ritual so that rival members of each
body found it impossible to make themselves known Masonically in the other.
Members of Lodges subordinate to these Grand Lodges came to this country to form
themselves into Lodges without warrant or charter. A dozen men, bringing what
they remembered of the ritual they heard when "made", would naturally include in
their ritual a little of one original source, some phrases from another
beginning, a paragraph from a third wellspring, and so on.

The Mother Grand Lodge ritual was
not the ritual of the United Grand Lodge which came into existence in 1813, when
the two parts of the original Mother Grand Lodge again came together. The United
Grand Lodge formed its ritual from the best of the divergent rituals of the "Antients"
and the "Moderns".

From four primary sources of
American ritual, in one way or another all American Jurisdictions, in part at
least, received their "work". These sources include Massachusetts, which at
first sent forth what must have been at least an approximation of the work of
the original Mother Grand Lodge, though her ritual today is derived from both
"Moderns" and "Antients"; Pennsylvania and Virginia, both giving forth
individual variants of a combination of "Modern" and "Antients"; and North
Carolina, almost purely "Modern".

In 1915 Dean Roscoe Pound showed
how various were the next groups of States which received their rituals from the
first four American sources. He averred that Maine derived from Massachusetts;
Vermont from the Grand Lodge of the "Antients" in Massachusetts before the
fusion; Ohio from Massachusetts, from Connecticut, a strictly "Modern" ritual,
and from Pennsylvania; Indiana from Ohio and Kentucky, the latter representing
Virginia after the fusion; Michigan from the "Antient" Grand Lodge of Canada and
from New York; Kentucky from Virginia; Tennessee from North Carolina, from South
Carolina, and from Tennessee; Louisiana from South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and
France; Florida from Georgia and South Carolina; Missouri from Pennsylvania and
Tennessee; Illinois from Kentucky; and the District of Columbia from Maryland,
Massachusetts, and Virginia.

There have been certain unifying
influences: The Baltimore Convention of 1843; the work of Rob Morris and his
Conservators, which despite the chilly reception by many Grand Jurisdictions,
undoubtedly left its impression on the American ritual; the work of Thomas Smith
Webb and Jeremy Cross, plainly evident in the esoteric paragraphs printed in
many State monitors and manuals; and the honest desire and efforts of many Grand
Lodges, through District Deputies, Grand Lecturers, Schools of Instruction,
similar instruction, and similar machinery, to preserve what they have in its
supposedly ancient perfection. By the time the latter forces were in operation,
the ritual was more or less fixed.

Because of the reverence of the
average Mason for what he is taught, and his fierce resentment of any material
change in that which he learns, rituals and degree forms, ceremonies and
practices, usages and customs, continue to be what he believes them to have been
"from time immemorial" even when sober fact shows that in all probability they
have an antiquity of less than two hundred years.

The catechism forms of lectures
came to this country with Freemasonry. The system originated by Anderson was
revised by many including William Preston, who suggested, if he did not teach,
the esoteric parts of the "work" by illustrations of symbols and emblems,
depicted on carpets. The Prestonian work was largely spread in this country by
Thomas Smith Webb, who published his first "Freemason's Monitor" in 1797. Almost
every jurisdiction, except Pennsylvania, adopted some or all of Smith's
modifications of Preston.

A joint report recommending the
adoption of the Webb lectures to the Grand Lodges of Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, in 1806, stated, "In the three degrees every master of a Lodge should
be indulged with the liberty of adopting historical details, and the
personification of the passing scene, as most agreeable to himself, his
supporting officers, and assisting the Lodge."

On the defensive in the aftermath
of the Morgan Affair (1826), the Fraternity was obliged carefully to guard
against cowans and eavesdroppers. Evidence of membership of a would-be visitor
was critically tested. Under such conditions, the lack of uniformity of Masonic
work among the several Grand Lodges, or even among Lodges in the same State, was
a formidable obstacle to fraternal intercourse. It was thought that possible
relief from these conditions might be found in uniformity of the lectures.
Identification of the members could thus be more readily made, and Lodges could
discontinue turning away visitors, among whom many must have been in good
standing, even if unable to prove themselves as such.

The Baltimore Convention, held
May 8-17, 1843, attempted to agree on a mode of work so that the Masonic ritual
might become uniform throughout the nation. On the opening day of the
Convention, which was called to address these and associated issues, Dr. John
Dove, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, was elected president. In
the agenda adopted was a statement declaring the objects and purposes of the
Convention to be the promotion of uniformity of Masonic work and the
recommendations of such measures as should tend to elevate the Order to its due
degree of respect throughout the world at large.

To accomplish its objectives,
four Committees were appointed:

On the work and lectures in conferring the degrees.

On the funeral service.

On the ceremonies of Consecration and Installation.

On Masonic jurisprudence.

The Committee on the Work and
Lectures in Conferring the Degrees consisted of Dr. Dove as Chairman, and four
others. Within the Committee, we are told, a "satisfactory degree of uniformity
existed", except for one member. In a letter written twenty years after the
Convention, Charles W. Moore, a member of the Committee, said, "The work and
lectures of the first three degrees, as adopted and authorized by the Baltimore
Convention, in 1843, were, with a few unimportant verbal exceptions, literally
as they were originally compiled by Brother Thomas Smith Webb, about the close
of the century, and as they were subsequently taught during his lifetime.

The only change of consequence
was in the due guards of the second and third degrees, which were changed and
made to conform to that of the first degree in position and explanation. This
was analogically correct."

Virginia's Ritual in the First
Hundred Years (1776-1875)

Organization of the Grand Lodge
of Virginia as America's first independent Grand Lodge occurred in 1777 and
1778. The diverse origins of these Lodges set the basis for the evolution of the
ritual in Virginia:

Lodge

Name, Location

Origin of Ritual

Norfolk

Norfolk

England (Moderns), Scotland

Port Royal

Port Royal

Scotland

Blandford

Petersburg

Scotland

Fredericksburg

Fredericksburg

Scotland

St. Tammany

Hampton

England (Moderns)

Williamsburg

Williamsburg

England (Moderns)

Botetourt

Fredericksburg

England (Moderns)

Gloucester

Fredericksburg

England (Moderns)

Cabin Point

Cabin Point

North Carolina

York

Yorktown

England (Moderns)

Subsequent to the forming of the
Grand Lodge of Virginia several other Lodges, with existing foreign charters,
were chartered. In addition, several new Lodges were instituted. The origin of
these Lodges of the first ten years of the Grand Lodge added to the original
Lodges, resulted in the merger from which our ritual began.

Lodge

Name, Location

Origin of Ritual

Richmond

Richmond

Virginia

North Hampton

North Hampton

Virginia

Kempsville

Kempsville

Virginia

Staunton

Staunton

Virginia

Manchester

Manchester

Virginia

Petersburg

Petersburg

Virginia

Portsmouth

Portsmouth

France

Charlotte

Charlotte

Virginia

Smithfield Union

Smithfield

Virginia

Richmond Randolph

Richmond

Virginia

Scottsville

Scottsville

Virginia

Baltimore Union

Baltimore

Virginia

Alexandria

Alexandria

Pennsylvania

The Grand Lodge first addressed
the ritual in 1786: ". . . considering the diffused situation of the Craft in
this State, was pleased to delegate to all Lodges the power of raising to the
degrees of Fellow Craft and Master, though in Europe and in large cities that
power is solely confined to the Grand Lodge." Thus, at least twenty versions of
the ritual were authorized by this action.

On November 12, 1791, the Masters
and Wardens met ". . . in order to consider of and adopt a uniform mode of
working to be observed by all Lodges under this jurisdiction . . ." The results
of this meeting are recorded in the minutes as "The Grand Lodge took under
consideration the business for investigating and establishing certain rules and
regulations to be engraved on the hearts of all present, but not proper to be
committed to writing."

The Grand Lodge was convened for
the purpose of laying the foundation stone of the bridge to be erected over
Shockoe Creek, on the 13th day of June 1795. However, the interesting event
which occurred is contained in the Proceedings: "In ample form the Grand Lodge
was opened in the first degree of Masonry . . ." This is the first indication as
to the exact degree on which any session of Grand Lodge had been conducted.

Grand Lodge Inspectors (now
called District Deputies) were directed ". . . not only to report on the
proceedings of those Lodges, but also to instruct the officers of each Lodge in
the proper mode of working, in order that a uniform method may be established
throughout this jurisdiction" at the 1796 session of Grand Lodge. Here we note
the first written indication of the encouragement of the Grand Lodge towards a
standardized ritual.

The requirement for an
examination in open Lodge ". . . in the degree from which he is to be advanced .
. ." was approved by Grand Lodge in 1798. The resolution further required that a
condition of his advancement would be the majority ballot of those present.

The year 1800 heralded the
beginning of the Committee on Work. The resolution directed the Grand Master to
appoint "..some expert Masons, not less than five in number, who, after having
conferred together, and agreed upon the mode of working, which, in their
judgments, shall conform with the ancient usages of masonry, shall appoint one
of their body . . . to exemplify the same, in open Lodge, in the three degrees
of masonry." This resolution's stated purpose was to promote uniformity of
working in the different subordinate Lodges.

The Grand Lodge of Virginia voted
in 1800 against the establishment of a National Grand Lodge. However, it did
recommend that a convention be held every three years in Washington ". . . for
recommending a uniform mode of carrying on the great work of the Craft, in the
different degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason."

The committee approved in 1800
reported to the Grand Lodge in 1801 that they had been unable to agree "owing to
the incalculable difficulties, arising from a prepossession in favor of the mode
each member has been accustomed to . . ." The committee proposed an alternative
method. At each Grand Lodge Session the Grand Master would exemplify in open
Lodge the third degree', the Deputy Grand Master the second degree, and the
Senior Warden the first degree. The resolution passed. The Grand Lodge session
of 1802 first complied with this resolution.

The Grand Lodge officers
continued to exemplify the degrees in open Grand Lodge until the resolution was
eliminated by act of Grand Lodge in 1804. The committee established in 1800 and
eliminated in 1801, was again made part of Grand Lodge. However, the new
committee was required only to exemplify the three degrees at a time and place
of convenience and 'such brothers as choose will attend the said
exemplification."

The regularity of the several
lectures in the early years of Masonry in Virginia, appears questionable. The
resolution of 1806 attests to this fact. In that resolution it was declared,
"That it be, and is hereby specially recommended to the subordinate Lodges, an
injunction on the Master, or presiding officer, at two, at least, or more
specified regular meetings in the year, to give, or cause to be given, a lecture
on each of the three degrees of Masonry.". The stated reason for this Grand
Lodge action was that "the different subordinate Lodges are far from being
expert in the mysteries of Masonry, which must no doubt be owing to the want of
regular lectures in the different Lodges".

Failure of the District Deputies
to make the necessary visits to assure the purity of the ritual caused the
following resolution to be passed by the Grand Lodge in 1815: "That the first
evening of every succeeding Grand Annual Communication, a committee of five
members be appointed by the Grand Master, to be called the 'Working Committee',
whose duty it shall be to attend on the second and third days of each Grand
Annual Communication, to exemplify to any brother or brethren wishing it, the
three degrees of Masonry." This appears as a resolution of clarification of a
similar one passed by the Grand Lodge in 1804.

The appointment of one or more
Grand Lecturers "for the purpose of disseminating among the brethren of the
subordinate Lodges within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge, the mode of work
now adopted . . ." was granted to the Grand Master in 1819. However, the Grand
Lodge repealed this authority at the Grand Annual Communication in 1820.

In 1821 the Working Committee
exemplified the three degrees in open Grand Lodge. After which the Grand Lodge
passed a resolution that "the mode of working, as this night exemplified by the
Working Committee, is the proper mode of working, and that it accordingly be
recommended to the subordinate Lodges, for their adoption and that the District
Deputy Grand Masters be requested to instruct them accordingly." Thus, the first
Grand Lodge approval of a standard ritual in Virginia.

The first Grand Lecturer was
elected in 1822 to ". . . visit such Lodges as may request his attendance. . .
." The filling of any vacancy occurring during recess being left to the Grand
Master. James Cushman was then elected as the first Grand Lecturer of the Grand
Lodge of Virginia.

The 1823 session of the Grand
Lodge saw the abolishment of the position of Grand Lecturer. The subject of the
ritual received very little attention for the next twenty years as almost
nothing is mentioned in the annual Proceedings.

In an effort to standardize the
ritual, the Grand Lodge in 1840 passed a resolution "That a Working Committee,
consisting of three residents of the City of Richmond, be appointed at this
Grand Annual Communication whose duty it shall be to confer with each other at
least as often as once a month, during the recess, and to exemplify their work
at the next Grand Annual Communication, and the mode of work, when approved,
shall be appointed by all the subordinate Lodges." In addition, in both 1841 and
1842 a resolution was passed by the Grand Lodge to establish the position of
Grand Lecturer as an "appointed officer" of the Grand Lodge, "That the Grand
Master be requested to appoint a suitable person to act as Grand Lecturer, whose
duty it shall be to visit such Lodges as may request it, and for his services
shall receive the voluntary contribution of such Lodges."

1841 also saw the passage of
several other resolutions with regard to the ritual. "That hereafter the
Subordinate Lodges under this jurisdiction be required to hold all sessions in
the third degree, except for the purposes of working and lecturing in the First
and Second Degrees." "That a Special Committee be appointed to prepare a work
containing the Charges, Ceremonies of Institution, Funeral Service, and other
forms adopted by this Grand Lodge for the government of the Subordinate Lodges,
and report to the next Grand Annual Communication." "That a Grand Working
Committee be appointed by the Grand Master, whose duty it shall be to exemplify
their mode of work before Grand Lodge on the first night of each Grand Annual
Communication."

In 1842 a convention was held at
the request of the Grand Lodge of Alabama to consider the standardization of the
ritual in the United States. However, due to a lack of representation of Grand
Lodges, the convention recommended that each Grand Lodge appoint a Grand
Lecturer to meet in Baltimore in 1843 to establish a standardized ritual.

The Virginia Grand Lecturer,
James D. McCabe and the Grand Secretary, Dr. John Dove, reported to Grand Lodge
on the 1842 convention and introduced a resolution "That this Grand Lodge
appoint a skillful Brother as Special Grand Lecturer to attend and participate
in the actions of the 1843 Baltimore Convention."

The Baltimore Convention was held
in 1843 and was attended by Dr. Dove, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of
Virginia. A report on the Baltimore Convention is contained in a separate part
of this paper.

Dr. Dove exemplified on the floor
of the Grand Lodge in 1843, the ritual adopted by the Baltimore Convention. The
Grand Lodge, by resolution, adopted this work as its standard ritual. Several
other related resolutions were passed by the 1843 Grand Lodge. "That the Grand
Master be empowered to appoint two or more, not exceeding four, brethren to act
as Grand Lecturers." That the system of work and lectures agreed to by the
Baltimore Convention, as exhibited in the Grand Lodge this evening, be adopted
as the system of work and lectures for this Grand Lodge, and that the several
Subordinate Lodges within the same be instructed to abide thereby." The Grand
Lodge disapproved use of the "Masonic Trestleboard" written by Charles W. Moore
of Massachusetts. The Grand Master appointed two Grand Lecturers for the Eastern
and Western Districts.

In 1844 Dr. Dove wrote the Text
Book for the Grand Lodge of Virginia and at the 1844 Grand Lodge Session a
special committee was appointed to examine it and make recommendations as to the
sections to be adopted. Additionally, the 1844 Grand Lodge repealed the law
requiring exemplification of the work on the first night of the Grand Annual
Communication.

The Virginia Text Book written by
Dr. Dove was approved at the 1845 Grand Annual Communication. The
exemplification of the work on the first night of Grand Lodge was reestablished.

"That every subordinate Lodge
under this jurisdiction shall be entitled to the services of the Grand Lecturer
at least once in two years, upon defraying the actual expenses of the Grand
Lecturer, while attending such Lodges, and going to and from the same." This
resolution was accepted by the 1846 Grand Lodge.

The 1850 Grand Lodge session
approved an increase in the size of the Grand Working Committee from two to
five.

"The report of the Committee on
the plan for a working Lodge was taken up, read, and considered, whereupon;
Resolved, that the Special Grand Lodge Committee on Work, be considered and made
custodians of the Ritual, as approved and adopted, until otherwise ordered by
the Grand Lodge." This was a result of much disagreement on the ritual among the
Committee on Work and the District Deputy Grand Masters and was the resolution
to a disagreement which continued for the preceding several years. This
resolution, which was passed in 1855, created what was termed "Vigilant Lodge".

In 1856 clarification of the
"individual Mason" term was made. The Grand Lodge adopted the following
resolution: "That the Grand Lodge hereby forbid the Subordinate Lodges from
conferring any portion of any degree, except the Explanatory Lectures, upon more
than one candidate at a time."

The questionable practice of more
than one Grand Lecturer was brought to an end in 1859. Grand Lodge agreed, "That
it is inexpedient to have more than one Grand Lecturer in the State of
Virginia.", and in 1861 the Committee on Work was identified as the "Custodians
of the Work" and was authorized to consist of five members.

The Grand Annual session in 1871
agreed, "That the Lodges in the several districts in this jurisdiction be and
are hereby authorized to recommend, in the same manner and at the same time that
the recommendations are made for the appointment of the District Deputy Grand
Master, such skillful brother as they may deem fit to be appointed District
Deputy Grand Lecturers for their respective Districts. That upon the said
recommendation, the Grand Master with the advice of the same Grand Officers who
advise him as to the office of District Deputy Grand Master, shall appoint at
the same time the District Deputy Grand Masters are appointed, District Deputy
Grand Lecturers for such Districts as may make recommendations therefor.

"That the said District Deputy
Grand Lecturer shall be charged with, and held responsible for, the correctness
of the work in his respective District; shall visit each Lodge at least once
each year, and make a report of his visiting to the Grand Lodge; but shall be
vested with none of the powers of the District Deputy Grand Master. Should any
District fail to make recommendation of a suitable brother, the District Deputy
Grand Master shall continue to supervise the work as heretofore. District Deputy
Grand Lecturers shall be commissioned in the same manner as the District Deputy
Grand Master, but no District Deputy Grand Lecturer shall proceed to execute the
duties of his office until he shall have received a certificate from the Grand
Lecturer of his proficiency in the work. The Grand Master is authorized, in
vacation, to make appointments for any or all of the Districts, for the current
year, without reference to the recommendations of the Lodges."

In 1872, a decision by the Grand
Master "That the Grand Lodge regulation requiring of the District Deputy Grand
Master a certificate that the officers named in the application for a
Dispensation to form a new Lodge, 'are competent to superintend the work and
confer the Degrees, including the lectures,' applies to the Wardens as well as
the Masters."

"That it is contrary to Masonic
Law and usage to require a Master Mason to be proficient in the Third Degree
before he can be received into membership in a Lodge, consequently the enactment
of a By-Law to that effect would be improper." This decision was rendered by the
Grand Master in 1874.

Modern Masonic Ritual

The Grand Master's report to the
Grand Lodge in 1876 made it clear that it was necessary to provide some means to
preserve the ritual and to devise a methodology whereby differences that might
arise in the rendition of the ritual could be reconciled. His report laid a
solid foundation for the allocation of responsibility to what we now term the
Committee on Work and the Grand Lecturer.

In 1879 the Grand Lodge approved
a resolution whereby on the third evening of every Grand Annual Communication a
"Working Committee" was to be appointed by the Most Worshipful Grand Master. The
duty of this committee was to attend on the second and third days of each Grand
Annual Communication, or more often if required by the Grand Lodge, to exemplify
to any Brethren wishing it the three Degrees of Masonry by actual work, giving
the lectures in full, and, in addition, to exemplify the catechism through the
first section of each degree that was required for the examination of candidates
for advancement. This committee was also directed to function as the custodian
of the work. Thus the precedent was set whereby the Grand Lodge at various times
in the future adjusted the size and directed the activities of this committee.

In 1882 Grand Lodge acted to
authorize the Working Committee to meet in the City of Richmond on the Thursday
preceding the meeting of the Grand Lodge, with the Committee on Finance and
Investment providing "for the payment of three days expenses for such members. .
. ." This Communication of the Grand Lodge also reaffirmed the duty of the
Committee on Work to report to report to the Grand Lodge what difference if any,
existed in the work between the members of the Committee, in order that the
Grand Lodge might act intelligently on such matters as might be brought before
it. Thus two more precedents, prevailing to this day, were established.

The relationship of the Grand
Lecturer and the Deputy Grand Lecturer, the latter office being unfilled at
times, to the Grand Working Committee was spelled out in 1880 when the Grand
Lodge took action that provided:

FIRST: That immediately after the
election of officers, annually, the Grand Master shall appoint a Grand Lecturer
and Deputy Grand Lecturer, whose duty it shall be to visit and instruct the
Lodges and members thereof when requested so to do.

SECOND: That in their
instructions they shall conform to the Ancient York Ritual, as taught by the
Grand Working Committee, and revised and adopted by the Grand Lodge in 1855, and
to the laws of the same, as contained in the Virginia Text Book.

THIRD: The Grand Lecturer and the
Deputy Grand Lecturer shall be ex-officio members of the Grand Working
Committee, and the Grand Lecturer shall be the Chairman of said Committee.

FOURTH: That the Grand Lecturer
and Deputy Grand Lecturer shall receive as compensation for their services the
sum of five dollars per day while engaged in Lecturing or travelling to and from
said Lodges or members, such expenses to be paid by the Lodges or parties to
whom such services are rendered.

FIFTH: That on such visits of
instruction, if said Grand Lecturer or Deputy Grand Lecturer shall discover any
moral or Masonic irregularity among the members of such Lodges, or in the Lodges
themselves, he shall report the same to the District Deputy Grand Master of the
District.

SIXTH: That they shall, annually,
on the first night of each Grand Annual Communication, make a report in writing
of their acts and doings during the year, and

SEVENTH: That in order to promote
the efficiency of the Subordinate Lodge and to instruct them in the work, the
Grand Master shall visit the subordinate Lodges and instruct them, or he may
require the Grand Lecturer or the Deputy Grand Lecturer to visit and instruct
any Subordinate Lodge, in which case, the expense attending such visitation
shall be paid by the Grand Treasurer on the order of the Grand Master; provided
that the expense to the Grand Lodge under this Section shall not exceed $300.00
per year.

In its actions in 1880 the Grand
Lodge established the precedents which were to govern the relationship of the
Grand Lecturer to the Grand Lodge and the Subordinate Lodges from that time on
to the present. At the Grand Annual Communication in 1905 the Grand Lodge
authorized the division of the State into six lecturing divisions, to be served
by six appointed lecturers, one of which was the Grand Lecturer. At this
Communication the Grand Lodge also authorized the expansion of the "Working
Committee", now called the Committee on Work, to 12 members in order to include
the six lecturers, with the Grand Lecturer serving as Chairman. This pattern
prevailed until 1922, at which time Grand Lodge specified that one lecturer and
one committeeman "shall be appointed from each lecturing district."

Grand Lodge in 1950 increased the
Lecturing Divisions from six to nine, and the Committee on Work was increased to
consist of "the Grand Lecturer and eleven other members." In this action the
Grand Lodge stipulated that one Division Lecturer and one Lecturer shall be
appointed from each Lecturing Division by the Grand Master, except that in
Division 1 a Division Lecturer and two lecturers shall be appointed, one of whom
shall reside on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and in Division 9 two lecturers
shall be appointed.

In 1961 Grand Lodge approved a
modification to its law concerning the Grand Lecturer and the Committee on Work.
Section 1.87, which governs these matters, was modified to read: "At each Annual
Communication the Grand Master shall appoint a Grand Lecturer, one Division
Lecturer from each Lecturing Division, as specified in Section 1.92 hereof, and
a number of Lecturers, which, including the Division Lecturer, shall be one for
each eighteen Lodges or major fraction thereof, located within the boundaries of
each of the Lecturing Divisions. The Grand Master may appoint an assistant Grand
Lecturer, but neither he nor the Grand Lecturer shall be included as a Grand
Lecturer or Division Lecturer of any Division. The Grand Lecturer shall be
Chairman, and the Division Lecturer, Lecturers, and Assistant Grand Lecturer, if
he be appointed, shall compose the Committee on Work, and they shall be endowed
with the functions of Custodians of the Work." At this time it was also
determined that "The Grand Lecturer and members of the Committee on Work shall
be charged with the duty of examining Wardens and issuing to those proficient in
the work, as taught by the Committee on Work, such certificates as may be
required for election to any office in a subordinate Lodge as hereinafter
provided by law or resolution of the Grand Lodge.

It is interesting to note that
with the exception of Virginia's participation in the Baltimore Convention, the
Grand Lodge has refrained from entering into ritualistic arrangements with other
jurisdictions. In 1906 for example, the Committee on Propositions studied a
communication received from the Grand Lodge of Colorado, the primary thrust of
which was a proposal to establish a collegium of Grand Lecturers for the purpose
of unifying the esoteric and exoteric work of the several Grand Lodges of the
United States. The Committee reported that such action was not feasible or
desirable, and it therefore recommended that no action be taken in regard to
this matter.

Most Worshipful James H. Price,
Grand Master in 1923, made his mark on the teaching of the ritual in Virginia.
He recommended that the Committee on Work, in conjunction with the Committee on
Jurisprudence, provide some means of making it obligatory for newly made Masons
to attain a mastery of the catechism in the Master's Degree. "The average Mason,
in his anxiety to pass on to the so-called higher things," he said, "makes no
effort to familiarize himself with the climax and conclusion of our Masonic
structure, and knows nothing of the Master's Degree. It might be made the duty
of the Master to see that every Mason is required to learn this catechism, and a
blank could be provided for the secretary, who would be required to include this
item in his annual report."

Price's remarks led Grand Lodge
to adopt a resolution in 1924 which was to be read by the Master to the
Candidate at the conclusion of the Charge as follows: "My brother (or brethren):
The Grand Lecturer and District Deputy Grand Masters emphasize the teaching of
the catechism of the Master Mason's Degree in each of the subordinate Lodges.
The Grand Lodge of Virginia urges the stationed officers of the Subordinate
Lodges to use their influence to induce those who are raised to the sublime
degree of Master Mason to learn the catechism of the Master Mason's Degree. The
Master of each Subordinate Lodge shall read this resolution to every brother who
is raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason."

In 1925 the Grand Lodge amended
and reenacted the then Section 165 to read: "No brother can be installed as
Master of a Lodge until he shall have received the Degree of Past Master, and
shall have received from the Grand Lecturer or Division Lecturer a certificate
certifying that he is qualified to confer all the degrees, but this provision
shall not become effective until the annual election of officers in 1926."

In 1928 the Grand Lodge
considered an amendment to this Section which would have included the lectures
as part of the requirement for a certificate. However, the result was the
elimination of the certificate entirely. The new Section 165, as amended and
reenacted, read: "No brother can be installed as Master or Warden, nor occupy
such office in a Lodge under Dispensation, until he shall have received the
Degree of Past Master."

The Grand Lodge amended and
reenacted Section 165 in 1929 by adding: "Effective at the annual election of
officers in December 1929 and thereafter, no brother shall be installed Master
of a Lodge unless he is able to confer the first section of the three Degrees
and the second section of the Master Mason's Degree and has a certificate from
the Grand Lecturer or a Division Lecturer." The Grand Lodge also stipulated at
that time that "Effective at the annual election of officers in December 1931
and thereafter, no brother shall be installed Master of a Lodge unless he is
able to confer the three Degrees, including the lectures, and has a certificate
from the Grand or Division Lecturer showing him qualified." In 1935 the Grand
Lodge eliminated the part of Section 165 which required the lectures in order to
qualify for the certificate. In 1945, the certificate issue was again raised,
this time resulting in action to require that the certificate be issued not more
than one year prior to election.

The Grand Lodge amended and
reenacted Section 126 in 1947 to read: No Lodge shall, without dispensation from
the Grand Master, make more than five Entered Apprentices, or Fellowcrafts, or
Master Masons at one Communication."

In 1956 the Grand Lodge adopted a
prayer to be used at the installation of officers. In that year it also agreed
to modify the funeral service so that it might be used other than at the grave
site. This change was made by the insertion or substitution of appropriate
words. The word "grave' was changed to "body" with regard to the apron.

Also, the words "with the body"
were substituted for "grave" at the close of the apron portion. The words "the
grave" in the committal ceremony were changed to "his maker". In the prayer of
the Chaplain, the word "grave" was changed to "mortal remains". However, Grand
Lodge went on record by recommending ". . . that the graveside service be used
in every instance possible."

In 1957 the Grand Lodge agreed to
a charge to be used in the installation of the Chaplain. It also adopted a
conclusion for the installation ceremony by acceptance of the Marshal's
proclamation, to wit: "In the name of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of
Ancient, Free, and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I proclaim
the officers of ________ Lodge No._____ duly installed and the Lodge properly
constituted for the ensuing year."

A new Memorial Service was
presented jointly by the Grand Master and the Grand Lodge Committee on Work and
accepted by the Grand Lodge in 1961.

In 1962 the Grand Lodge adopted
the Tiler's oath as follows: "I, ______________ , hereon solemnly swear that I
have been regularly initiated, passed, and raised to the Sublime Degree of
Master Mason in a just and legally constituted Master Mason's Lodge; that I am
not now suspended or expelled and know of no reason why I should be." In
addition, the Grand Lodge in that year approved a benediction for use with the
funeral service when it was not given by the minister.

In 1968 the Grand Lodge agreed
that the instructions given by the Worshipful Master after the candidate is
conducted out of the lodge room at the conclusion of the first section of the
Master Mason's Degree should include an admonishment to retain the solemnity of
the Degree. In this year on recommendation of the Committee on Work, a new
Memorial Service to be used in a tiled lodge was also adopted by Grand Lodge.

In 1970, the Grand Lodge adopted
a ceremony for the Consecration of a Lodge Hall and adopted an optional Evening
Memorial Service. The next year it approved a resolution allowing a Lodge of
Sorrow to be opened and closed only once a year.

Grand Lecturers of Virginia

The first Virginia Mason to have
the title of Grand Lecturer was James Cushman, who was appointed by Grand Master
Dr. John H. Purdie. He was apparently an associate of Jeremy Ladd Cross, of
Connecticut, who came to Virginia in 1819 and exemplified the ritual to the
Grand Lodge, the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons and thereafter organized the
Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters.

The office of Grand Lecturer was
filled by Cushman for two or three years and, since he was authorized to visit
only on invitation and to be paid only by the voluntary contributions by the
Lodges, the post fell into disuse and a resolution was adopted to discontinue
the office in 1823.

In 1841 the next Grand Lecturer
was appointed after Cushman some twenty years earlier. He was James D. McCabe.
He served a second term in 1842 in this same office.

In 1843 a Convention of Masons
met in Baltimore and Dr. John Dove, Grand Secretary of Virginia, was elected its
President.

This convention conceived its
duty to be that of establishing a uniform mode of working and "to recommend such
measures as shall tend to the elevation of this Order to its due degree of
respect throughout the world at large." Four Committees were appointed to
consider (a) the Work and Lectures, (b) the funeral service, (c) Ceremonies of
Consecration and Installation, and (d) Masonic jurisprudence.

The report of this Convention was
a 65 page document which contained the work of a non-esoteric nature adopted by
the convention, including the funeral service, and the ceremonies of
consecration and installation.

On December 14, 1843 the Grand
Lodge adopted the work of the Convention as the official work of Virginia and
ordered all subordinate Lodges to abide thereby. Thus for the first time in its
history Virginia had a ritual which was adopted by official action.

After hearing the report of Dr.
Dove in 1843, the Grand Master appointed two Grand Lecturers, James D. McCabe
for the Eastern District and Levi L. Stevenson for the Western District.
Stevenson made a recommendation in 1844 that the Grand Lecturer for the Western
District be not appointed. The Grand Master appointed both of them, however,
paying no attention to the recommendation.

In 1845 the Rev. James D. McCabe
informed the Grand Lodge that he was unable to discharge the duties of the
office of any Lodge. Levi L. Stevenson was appointed as the Grand Lecturer and
served in that post for seven years, through 1852. There was no Committee on
Work, the Grand Lecturer simply taught the work in the Lodges that requested him
to do so.

Powhatan B. Starke, of
Petersburg, was appointed Grand Lecturer in 1853, but as far as the record shows
he did not serve in that office. Starke was followed by James Evans, being
appointed in 1853 and serving until 1872, when he resigned. He was reappointed
in 1876 and served through 1880. J. R. Dowell was appointed Grand Lecturer in
1872 and served until 1876 when he died. William Lovenstein was the fifth Grand
Lecturer, serving from 1881 through 1882. The next Grand Lecturer was Peyton S.
Coles, who was appointed in 1883 and served through the year 1887.

In December 1887, the Grand Lodge
at its Annual Communication laid off the State into four divisions, each of
which was to have a Lecturer , and the Working Committee would be composed of
these four Lecturers and five other brethren to be appointed by the Grand
Master. One of the four Lecturers would also be named Grand Lecturer. Under this
new District or Division system the first Grand Lecturer was J. C. Little.
Appointed to serve with him as Lecturers were Harry B. Owens, Francis H. Hill,
and George W. Wright. Little served for two years, 1887 and 1888.

George W. Wright was appointed
Grand Lecturer in 1889. The brother added as a Lecturer in Little's place was
John Clopton. Wright served until 1893 when he was elected Grand Junior Deacon.

In 1893 George W. Carrington was
named Grand Lecturer, he having been appointed a Lecturer in 1891. He served
until 1895 when he was elected Grand Secretary in December of that year.

The tenth brother to be Grand
Lecturer was William E. Turner, but he died during the year and H. B. Owens was
appointed by Grand Master Fitzgerald to succeed him. He served until December
1896 as Grand Lecturer.

C. G. Davis was appointed Grand
Lecturer in 1897 and served until 1902. Some changes were made in the
requirements as to members of the Committee and James M. Clift was appointed a
Lecturer in 1901.

William T. Rea was appointed
Grand Lecturer in 1903 by Grand Master Thomas N. Davis to replace James M. Clift.
He continued to serve as Grand Lecturer until 1910. During his tenure the Grand
Lodge increased the number of Lecturing Divisions from four to six.

George W. Wright became Grand
Lecturer a second time in 1910, he having been appointed a Lecturer after he
completed his term as Grand Master. He was appointed Grand Lecturer upon the
death of William T. Rea. He continued to serve as Grand Lecturer until his death
in 1924. Two brethren served as Assistant Grand Lecturers with him: Most
Worshipful E. L. Cunningham in 1921 and James M. Clift in 1923.

James M. Clift was again
appointed Grand Lecturer when George W. Wright died. He served from 1924 until
1928 when he was elected Grand Secretary. He was succeeded in 1928 by Thomas C.
Nelson who served as Grand Lecturer until ill health forced him to retire in
1936. Nelson was succeeded by Most Worshipful Ben W. Beach of Danville, who
served nine years until 1946, when he asked to be relieved of the duties of the
office because of age and health.

George Robert Marshall, of
Victoria, was appointed Grand Lecturer by Most Worshipful T. Penn Coleman in
1946 and continued to serve in that post until his death in 1965.

Charles Armistead Sinclair, Jr.,
was the next Grand Lecturer, but the office remained open for two years until he
accepted the title and position in 1967 when Most Worshipful H. Bruce Green
assumed the office of Grand Master. "Charmie" served as Grand Lecturer until
1975 when he was made Grand Lecturer Emeritus by the Grand Lodge.

The nineteenth Grand Lecturer was
appointed by Most Worshipful Brother Seymour Levy in 1975. Reid James Simmons
assumed the position of Grand Lecturer in February and as of this writing
continues to serve the Grand Lodge in that capacity.

Conclusions

Certain fundamentals are to all
intents and purposes the same in every one of the forty-nine Grand jurisdictions
in the United States. All American Lodges have a Master, two Wardens, a
Secretary, Treasurer, and Altar with the Holy Bible and the other Great Lights,
lesser lights, three degrees, require a unanimous ballot, make Masons only of
men, have the same Substitute Word given in the same way, are tiled, and have a
ceremony of opening and closing. To some extent all dramatize and exemplify the
Master's degree, although the amount of drama and exemplification varies widely.

But beyond these and a few other
simple essentials are wide variations. Aprons are worn one way in one degree in
one jurisdiction and another way in the same degree in another. In some
jurisdictions, Lodges open and close on the Master Mason's Degree; others on the
First Degree; others only in the degree which is to be "worked". Lesser lights
are grouped closely about the Altar, in a triangle to one side of the Altar, or
in the stations of the Master and Wardens. In some Lodges the immediate Past
Master plays an important part, as in England. Some Lodges have Inner Guards and
two Masters of Ceremonies. Dividing, lettering, syllabling are almost as various
in practice as the jurisdictions. Obligations show certain close similarities in
some requirements; but what is a part of the obligation in one jurisdiction may
be merely an admonition in another.

While uniformity in work within
jurisdictions is fairly well established as good American Masonic practice, it
is not universal. There are several "workings" for instance, permitted in
English Lodges, and even in some American jurisdictions, such as Kentucky, not
all Lodges use the same ritual.